Leadership trends LO12697

Leadrinnov@aol.com
Tue, 25 Feb 1997 10:28:19 -0500 (EST)

Replying to LO12687 --

Wendy Fein asks about current trends in leadership:

I think we could more accurately call them emerging trends or new
competencies. Two of the lesser-discussed new competencies, among others,
include:

1. The ability to "mobilize adaptive work". The quote is from Ronald
Heifitz (Leadership Without Easy Answers, 1995; and recent Harvard
Business Review article, either Nov.-Dec, 1996 or Jan-Feb, 1997).

2. The Ability to manage psychological and conceptual boundaries. This
is a new set of boundaries that are different than hierarchical,
functional, geographic, and cultural boundaries. Hirshhorn and Gillmore
(Harvard Bus. Rev.) deal with some of these, which they describe as the
authority boundary (who is in charge of what?), the task boundary (who
does what?), the political boundary (What's in it for us?), and the
identity boundary (who is--and isn't--us?)

As for your question about differences from past to current trends, some
thoughts:

1. Shifting from separation to integration of management and leadership.
2. New awareness that leadership does not reside in one person only.
3. There are 2 dimensions to leadership: outward (followers, empowered
others) and inward (change starts with oneself).
4. Shift from a command and control, heroic, traditional leadership to
collaborative leadership.
5. Shift from imposing distance and barriers to staying in relationship
(remaining on the field of play).
6. Shift from hoarding information, resources, support to sharing them.
7. Shift from hierarchical to horizontal (networks, "webs of inclusion")
organizational designs.
8. Ability to see the order in chaos and the chaos in order.
9. Use of values in leadership.
10. Shift from individualistic and charismatic ("savior-leader") to
introspective and vulnerable leader. In this stance, one develops the
"learner" role, understands that one is part of a system, is open to failure,
not knowing, dependency, and helplessness: these are the experiential
realities of leadership but have been unaknowledged. (Sounds great, eh??!!
Sign me right up.) It also involves the use of one's own experience (not
just intellectual analysis) as key data.
11. There is an unconscious/non-rational part of organizational life. (Like
the Freudian iceberg diagram in Psych. 101. The big part.)

Well, I am ambivalent about long messages. I'll stop here. Hope the
thoughts are helpful.

Cliff Briggie
Leadership Innovations
Leadrinnov@aol.com

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